Bobby Flay's Good Carb Grilling

Introduction First things first: I am not a nutritionist. I am a chef. I am not looking to create a new diet fad. Nor am I trying to jump on somebody else's bandwagon. What I am looking to do is to show how a healthy lifestyle can be enhanced by delicious meals from the grill. And this isn't just any food, for there are plenty of diet books and magazines with nutritionally sound (and a lot of bland) recipes out there already. This is the food that people want to eat -- exciting, full of flavor -- and it just so happens that you can make all of it while keeping within the guidelines of many of the current popular diets. Modifying the way you eat doesn't mean that you shouldn't really enjoy your food or that you can't feel proud to serve it to family and friends. I could never put a dish on the table that I didn't feel met both of those standards.I'm not talking no carbs or low carbs, nonfat or low-fat. I am talking about therightcarbs, therightfats. I can't write a book about something I don't believe in. I have always been a supporter of all things in moderation, and this book has nothing but heart and body healthy choices all the way.You would have to be living under a rock not to have noticed the carbohydrate-cutting diets that have flooded the media and, in turn, totally changed the way Americans eat. I haven't spent one night in the kitchen of one of my restaurants in the past year without someone sending back the breadbasket or saying "No potatoes with that steak!" So I did a little research. And I think that some of these diets may be on to something--up to a point. But when I looked at the low-carb products and recipes out there -- the revised breads, the barbecue sauces -- I knew that I could never cook or eat that way. Soy flour may have its place, but it's not in my kitchen. And Splenda -- what is that? Beyond the taste, it's just not natural. Sucralose (the base of Splenda) is a chlorocarbon. I'm not eating chlorine.I can make some adjustments, but this can't be about substitutions. Too many recipes out there advocate the use of fake, processed food. I care too much about taste (among other things) to do that. I believe in purity of flavor. I'm not going to use sugar substitutes or imitation anything, but I do present a variety of dishes that will fit perfectly with today's carb-conscious lifestyle.Healthy grilling seems too simple to even need a book. Maybe you think that grilling is nothing more than a hunk of meat tossed on the grill. But if you know anything about me and the way I cook, you know that I can never leave it at that. I want taste! I want excitement! I'll show you how to take your proteins from basic to outstanding without using the unwanted carbs found in many of today's prepared sauces and marinades. I think that the grill is the perfect instrument for preparing healthy, flavorful food. The grill, however, isn't the true focus of this book. Well-balanced and delicious food is. So go ahead and use a charcoal grill, a gas grill, a grill pan on the stove, or pop something under the broiler. In this instance, I think it's fair to say that how you cook is less important than what you cook.And this book is not all meat -- no way! I believe that we need a full and balanced diet to be happy and healthy. Like I said earlier, it's all about making the right choices with the right foods, all without overloading on artery-clogging fats. Heart-healthy oils like olive and canola, omega-3-rich fish like salmon, tons of veggies chock-full of fiber -- they are all in here. I wanted to include some fantastic complex carbohydrates, too, with grilled buckwheat flatbread, salads with great grains like farro and bulgur, and whole-grain bread as the base for my sandwiches and burgers. Not only are they delicious, but complex carbohydrates are also so good for you -- they fight heart disease and are slower to break down in your body, leaving youFlay, Bobby is the author of 'Bobby Flay's Good Carb Grilling', published 0000 under ISBN 9780743272728 and ISBN 0743272722.